Cities

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In Iowa

Get started with a tour of one of our studios. Or call us for more information at 800-755-7597

The Music Scene in Iowa

The Iowa Recording Connection has a simple goal: to help you break into the music industry and jumpstart your career. We are the only audio engineering and music production school in the United States that actually functions with this as our goal.

Most audio engineering schools want to take your money and shuffle you through an education assembly line. At the Recording Connection, we want you to succeed and to launch a career. We want you to learn a craft, hone a skill set and become a working professional. That’s why we teach all of our students Logic, Reason, Pro Tools and Ableton, so they’ll be equipped to function well in any recording studio in the world.

With the Recording Connection, you won’t be wasting time in a classroom with a career instructor; with our audio engineering school, you’ll be working with established pros in a real recording studio. You’ll be working your way up the industry ladder by meeting people and proving your worth. You’ll be making your mark, even before you graduate.

The Recording Connection can place you in a real recording studio in any city in Iowa. If you’d like to go to school in Davenport or Des Moines, that can be arranged. Or Ottumwa? Sure! Why not?

The Recording Connection is an audio engineering school for audio engineers. That sounds like a simple thing, but it’s much harder than you think. We cater to a very specific group of individuals. We only let people who have a real passion for audio engineering into our school.

The Recording Connection is the only music production school for individuals who are truly serious about making a career in the recording arts. We are on the cutting edge of the industry.

Schedule a Tour

Visit a Studio
In Iowa

Get started with a tour of one of our studios. Or call us for more information at 800-755-7597

Programs

Music Producing

Looking to build a career as a music producer? Our insider access is your opportunity to make lasting hookups that can help you get started at producing today’s music. Learn in private sessions with a professional producer who can show you the ins-and-outs of this dynamic career.

Audio Engineering

From the basics of listening and microphone placement to Pro Tools and mastering, apprentice under a legendary Audio Engineer in the studio. Learn in the trenches and on the job to take your dream to the professional level.

Electronic Music - Ableton

Capture the music in your head with our hands-on Ableton Live curriculum featuring private training from noted EDM DJs and producers. Take your music to the professional level and get your sound in front of the decision makers at major EDM labels.

Live Sound

Prepare for a career as a front-of-house engineer by apprenticing (externing) under a touring Audio Engineer. If your goal is to get inside the music industry and tour the world, this recording program is for you.

Live DJ

Our Live DJ Apprentice Program pairs you with a working, touring DJ, who’ll tutor you on what it takes to succeed on the world’s biggest stages. It's the ultimate all-access pass to the music-performance business. Get schooled in one-on-one lessons from a working, touring DJ.

Music Business

Turn your passion and ear for music into a career by understanding the world of managers, agents, royalties, copyrights, 360 deals and more. You can't get more inside music business access than this course. Become a music Mogul.

Post Production For Film and TV

Learn Post Audio while apprenticing under a Post Production Specialist in their recording studio. If working on movie, TV and video game soundtracks sounds like an incredible career, this course is for you.

Advanced Audio

Learn advanced audio techniques in overdubbing, mixdown and mastering. Apprentice under a legendary audio engineer/music producer/mixer while gaining an insider's access to the music industry. Take your existing skills to the next level while building connections.

Electronic Music - Logic Pro

Learn Logic Pro as you apprentice under a legendary electronic music composer, dance music producer, or touring DJ in their studio. Gain insider access to the electronic music scene. You tell us your favorite genres of electronic music, and we will help you produce that type of music.

Audio Certification

Fast track your career with certification credentials in Pro Tools. By getting yourself tested and certified you are showing over 5,000 Producers and Engineers worldwide that you have what it takes to work for them as both and an assistant engineer and an Engineer/Producer.

Looking to land a career as a Music Producer? Our insider access is your opportunity to make lasting hookups to launch your career as a music producer. Learn in private sessions from a professional music producer.

From the basics of listening and microphone placement to Pro Tools and mastering, apprentice under a legendary Audio Engineer in the studio. Learn in the trenches and on the job to take your dream to the professional level.

Capture the music in your head with our hands-on Ableton Live curriculum featuring private training from noted EDM DJs and producers. Take your music to the professional level and get your sound in front of the decision makers at major EDM labels.

Prepare for a career as a front-of-house engineer by apprenticing (externing) under a touring Audio Engineer. If you goal is to get inside the music industry and tour the world, this recording program is for you.

Our Live DJ Apprentice Program pairs you with a working, touring DJ, who’ll tutor you on what it takes to succeed on the world’s biggest stages. It's the ultimate all-access pass to the music-performance business. Get schooled in one-on-one lessons from a working, touring DJ.

Turn your passion and ear for music into a career by understanding the world of managers, agents, royalties, copyrights, 360 deals and more. ou can't get more inside music business access than this course. Become a music Mogul.

Learn Post Audio while apprenticing under a Post Production Specialist in their recording studio. If working on movie, TV and video game soundtracks sounds like an incredible career, this course is for you.

Learn advanced audio techniques in overdubbing, mixdown and mastering. Apprentice under a legendary audio engineer/music producer/mixer while gaining an insider's access to the music industry. Take your existing skills to the next level while building connections.

Learn Ableton, Logic or Pro Tools. Apprentice under a legendary electronic music composer, dance music producer, or touring DJ in their studio. Gain insider access to the electronic music scene. You tell us your favorite genres of electronic music, and we will help you produce that type of music.

Fast track your career with certification credentials in Pro Tools. By getting yourself tested and certified you are showing over 5,000 Producers and Engineers worldwide that you have what it takes to work for them as both and an assistant engineer and an Engineer/Producer.

Meet our Faculty

Why learn from teachers when you can learn from industry giants?

Gregory Hainer Post Production

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Gregory Hainer Post Production

Background

Recording Connection mentor Gregory Hainer is an interesting case. Usually our Recording mentors work primarily in the music industry but Gregory has made a successful career for himself in music as well as film, television, and video game entertainment as a music composer, voice over specialist, Sound FX designer and mixer on numerous projects including: Plants vs. Zombies 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Guild Wars 2, Prince of Egypt, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, We Were Soldiers, Dishonored, Black Hawk Down, and many more.

Gregory does most of his work from Scorpio Sound, his boutique studio located in the Hollywood Hills. His unique skills-set, talent, and setup enables him to do work larger audio studios can’t. “From a client’s perspective, I own the studio, so there is no middle management overhead to worry about because the owner/operator is also the creative head. This means I have the freedom to choose to spend a little more time with my clients in order to get things perfect versus having to be out of a studio by a specific time.” Specialty might as well be Gregory’s middle name. “I get quite a few calls for the most unusual or difficult to design stuff that many in-house teams can’t quite seem to pull off convincingly, such as creating sounds for creatures, magic spells, sci-fi effects, light sabers and the like. But I will also get the occasional call to do the less-fun direct stuff like cleaning up poorly recorded production audio from a film, or digging out inaudible archival dialogue from excessive background noise.”

On top of working in the film, TV, and video game industries Gregory also takes on Recording Connection apprentices and teaches them about both the industry and the craft of audio engineering.

Kevin Sharpe Producer / Engineer

Kevin Sharpe Producer / Engineer

Background

Kevin Sharpe is an Emmy Award winning producer, engineer, and keyboardist. He has produced, recorded or mixed many fine artists. Click here to see a list of credits.

Kevin began recording at the age of 15 years old with a 4 track Teac reel to real, a Yamaha mixer, Moog synth and a broken drum machine. Soon he was recording local bands and the neighbors dog. After years of making noise and honing his recording skills he opened a small studio in Troy, Michigan. twenty five years and a couple of thousand bands later, he still gets chills while mixing a great song.

As a producer, Kevin is 100 percent committed to doing whats best for the song, while preserving the unique chemistry of the preforming artist or band. By making the recording process work for the music, the artists vision shines through to the finished product. After all it is always about the music!

Kevin attended Oakland University before studying music at Rochester College. After completing his education, he has taken several courses at The Berklee College of Music.

Articles

Artists

Leland Kracher Audio Engineer / Music Producer

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Leland Kracher Audio Engineer / Music Producer

Background

Leland Kracher is a classically trained musician, audio engineer and music producer based in Dallas, TX.

With high caliber music making and engineering skills in both Pro Tools and Ableton, Kracher has built a diverse career doing everything from recording local Dallas musicians and bands, to producing EDM artists and others, many whose songs are heard on the airwaves today.

With success on multiple fronts, including that of his own band MOJO, this seasoned Ableton instructor and versatile music entrepreneur is passionate and dedicated to helping his students achieve their goals for achieving satisfying, rewarding careers in the Dallas music scene and beyond.

Josh Denhardt Music Producer

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Josh Denhardt Music Producer

Background

Josh Denhardt is a music producer, audio engineer, and instructor based in Denver, Colorado. A longtime EDM DJ for more than 10 years, Josh decided to follow his passion for music and changed course from college dropout and self-described “ski bum” to being a highly sought after musical powerhouse with a skillset that ranges from live sound and recording to producing and mixing for numerous well-known musical acts and artists including a recently completed project with Grammy nominated P. J. Olsson of the Alan Parsons Project.

As an Ableton and Pro Tools mentor with a hands-on approach, Josh Denhardt takes tremendous pride in helping various artists and aspiring music producers build their studio chops, musicianship, and professional know-how.

Artists

RRFC GraduateDJ of 10+ yearsFirst solo EDM LP to be released end of August 2017Produced “The Chase ft BX” to be released end of August 2017Working with grammy nominated Engineer PJ Olsson of Alan Parsons Project at new destination studio Eagle Wind Sound in Winter ParkCO Fall 2017

Luis Pacheco Mixing / Recording Engineer

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Luis Pacheco Mixing / Recording Engineer

Background

Luis Pacheco is a mixing, recording, and audio engineer based in Las Vegas, Nevada who has worked with a wide range of artists from within the world of EDM and beyond, including, Rain Man (signed on Dim Mak), Jon Bellion, and Jason Derulo.

Also a highly experienced educator in various DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) including Pro Tools and Ableton, Pacheco is a consummate believer in the power of experimentation, hard work, and having a positive and professional mindset. A kinesthetic learner himself, he believes in empowering his students to “learn by doing” and even messing up from time to time.

An opportunity-seeking, productive mindset, having solid communication skills, and knowing how to work with fellow artists and music producers are just a few of the abilities Pacheco works to engrain in his students. Recent graduates have gone on to launch careers in Los Angeles and in famous venues.

Articles

Artists

Josh Monroy Producer / Engineer

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Josh Monroy Producer / Engineer

Background

Recording Connection mentor Josh Monroy is proof-positive that getting in and showing your commitment to the craft, day-in and day-out, can launch your career to unprecedented heights. With more than a decade in the music industry, Josh “Igloo” Monroy has worked with everyone from Justin Bieber to Quincy Jones, to The Notorious B.I.G. The seasoned engineer/composer/producer is also known for his longtime work with iconic artist Ludacris. An Atlanta native, Josh recently answered the call to come out to Los Angeles and is now co-owner of Studio 1 Zero. His most recent success includes the work he’s done on JoJo’s critically-acclaimed album Mad Love, which includes three tracks recorded, produced, and co-written by the multifaceted music professional.

Articles

Ira Parker Producer / Engineer

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Ira Parker Producer / Engineer

Background

A true music industry veteran, Recording Connection mentor Ira Parker is the owner and chief producer/engineer for Maximus Music Records, one of the top recording studios in Charlotte, NC, serving clients like Jadakiss, DMX and many others. As a Recording Connection mentor, Ira is passionate about training up new talent and always looks for opportunities to push his students to expand their skills.

Jeramy Roberts Producer / Label Founder

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Jeramy Roberts Producer / Label Founder

Background

Jeramy Roberts is an EDM producer, composer, DJ and Ableton educator located in Austin, Texas. As founder of the Electronic Musician’s Guild, his approach combines the creative and the pragmatic—an ethos that’s dedicated to helping his students get their music out into the digital marketplace and distributed on major platforms.

Jeramy has sold his songs and records in dozens of countries around the world. He has broken the Top 100 spot in numerous international sales charts and even his former students have hit #2 in Amazon’s House Top 100 while training under his direction. A loyal lover of EDM and the great local EDM scene in Austin, Jeramy Roberts is serious about helping today’s most driven and committed newcomers create productive, rewarding careers in music.

Mehul Tolia Recording Connection Mentor

Mehul Tolia Recording Connection Mentor

Misha Kachkachishvili Engineer

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Misha Kachkachishvili Engineer

Background

An established audio engineer/producer based in New Orleans, Recording Connection mentor Misha Kachkachishvili is an industry veteran whose client list includes names like Solange Knowles, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Janelle Monae, Taj Mahal, T-Bone Burnett and many others. A few years ago, he purchased a historic church left decimated by Hurricane Katrina, chose to keep the church’s historic pipe organ donated by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and converted the space into what is now Esplanade Studios, the largest recording studio in Louisiana (and one of the most prestigious).

Scott Lee Studio Manager

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Scott Lee Studio Manager

Background

In 1996, Scotty became Production Manager for the powerhouse production team, The Characters. It was during this time that Scott worked on numerous Platinum and Gold albums, including releases by SWV, Johnny Gill, Tyrese, B2K, Brian McKnight, Petey Pablo, and Faith Evans. Scotty has been lending his expertise in Studio and Production Management at Engine Room Audio since 2006.

Artists

Mark Christensen Mastering Engineer

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Mark Christensen Mastering Engineer

Background

Head Mastering Engineer and owner of Engine Room Audio in New York city. Starting his music career as a guitar player in numerous garage bands, Mark was the owner of the first Tascam Portastudio 4 Track Cassette Recorder in Colorado. He has spent the ensuing thirty years staring at knobs and meters. Recent projects include Mastering for They Might Be Giants, Mr Probz, The Killers, 50cent, Trey Songz, Dr. Dre, and OK GO.

Mark and Engine Room Audio have been the recipient of multiple Grammy awards, and have been lucky enough to have been involved with a pile of Gold and Platinum award winning records. In early 2012 Christensen mastered the first single off Trey Songz’ album Chapter V, titled “Heart Attack,” which was produced by Benny Blanco and Rico Love.Around that time he mastered a track for Pauly D on G-Note Records as well, and he worked with the Italian rap group Club Dogo in June 2012. Signed to Universal Music Group, the group’s members DJ Don Joe and engineer Andrea “db” Debernardi flew to New York to mix and master an album with Christensen. Their resulting single “Cattivi Esempi” reached #2 on the Italian music charts. Christensen’s other mastering projects in 2012 included the alt-rock band Weep’s album Alate and the Trey Songz album Chapter V, which reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Also that September, 50 Cent was in the studio with Christensen to master his single “New Day,” which features Dr. Dre and Alicia Keys. The song was mixed by Eminem before mastering.

In 2013 Mark starting working with the artist “Mr Probz”, initially on his album “The Treatment” and the single “Waves” and new material including the single “Nothing Really Matters”. On 27 April 2014, Waves debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after selling 127,000 copies in its first week. As of October 2014, it was the fourth-biggest selling single of 2014 in the UK, with sales of 758,000. The song also peaked at number one in Australia (currently 3x platinum), Austria (currently gold), Germany (currently 5x platinum), Italy (currently 3x platinum), Sweden (currently 5x platinum) and Switzerland (currently 1x platinum). In the United States, the remix reached number one on the Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart for the issue dated 16 August 2014 and is currently 1x Platinum.

Engine Room Audio in 2014 continued to work on projects by both 50 Cent and Trey Songz, with Christensen mastering albums such as 50 Cent’s Animal Ambition. Other recent mastering projects include Collide by Boyz II Men and Game Changer by Johnny Gill. Christensen’s associated projects had been nominated for five Grammy Awards as of 2015, winning two of them. At that point Christensen had also worked on over 24 Billboard chart top ten hits, and around 25 of the releases had gone platinum or gold. Christensen is an official “mentor” at Recording Connection, a New York-based school for music recording. He also periodically chairs and moderates audio engineering panels at music industry events.

Artists

Justin Hachat DJ / Producer

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Justin Hachat DJ / Producer

Background

Sweetdrop Digital is a record label founded in 2013 by DJ/Producer Justin Hachat aka Justin David and partners. We are a label built by sound engineers, djs and producers for djs and producers. We have a philosophy of creating something that artists want to be a part of. For our clients we offer a broad array of services including, mixing, mastering, editing, arrangement, sfx placement, foley recording, and background music. For our artists we offer an almost unmatched payout on royalties, worldwide digital distribution, promotional efforts and booking management if chosen. For all others we offer you a selection of music and videos to entertain you. If you are new talent looking for an outlet to get your music heard or a industry professional looking for some of our services please feel free to contact us. Don’t forget to check out our other pages on facebook and soundcloud. Thank you for visiting and enjoy.

Artists

Asaf Fulks Producer

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Asaf Fulks Producer

Background

Asaf Fulks is a record artist, songwriter, music producer, sound engineer, videographer, graphic designer, educator, author, inventor and founder of OC Recording in 2005. He discovered his passion for music production during his college years. While studying Computer Science and Economics at Denison University in Ohio, he also spent time recording and producing in his dorm room. After graduating in 2004, he moved to his family in Hollywood and eventually relocated to Orange County to work for a book publisher. His boss recognized his passion for music and encouraged him to set up a studio in his unused office space. With minimal gear and few contacts Asaf set up shop and The OC Recording Company opened its doors in 2005. [^]

Artists

Steve Wright Engineer

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Steve Wright Engineer

Background

Built in 1990, WrightWay Studios has been a staple of the Mid – Atlantic music scene and a destination for national recording artists since it’s inception. The Studio has an impressive client list including artists ranging from Rihanna, Dru Hill, Bibi Bourelly, Dawn (Danity Kane) and Ryan Leslie to Slipknot, U.N.K.L.E and Bosnian Rainbows (Mars Volta), Misery Index, Evan Taubenfeld (Avril Lavigne), Steel Pulse and Celebration, to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hezekiah Walker and many more. WrightWay prides itself in its ability to deliver the highest quality projects for artists in any genre. WrightWay has worked with artists from every Major Label including Warner Brothers, EMI, Sony, BMG and Universal and most of their subsidiary labels in addition to most of the region’s budding talent.

WrightWay’s Engineers are far more than just engineers. Each is also a musician, trained as a producer who fully understands what it takes to make a great record. Each Producer/Engineer is committed to delivering the highest quality product for every client. Wright Way’s Producers/Engineers have worked with: Rihanna, Mos Def, Blaqstarr/M.I.A., Lake Trout, Slipknot, Mambo Sauce, Lonnie Liston Smith, Dying Fetus, Fertile Ground, SR71, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack

Scott Ferguson Producer

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Scott Ferguson Producer

Background

Picture this… It’s 1968 in a remote fishing village in eastern Canada. A six year old boy comes home from an afternoon jigging tommy cods on the wharf. He carefully drops the needle on “Rubber Soul”, his parents only Beatles album, adjusts his headphones and starts jamming to Ringo on his toy tin drum. These are the humble beginnings of what has become a great musical adventure. After a string of school concert bands, a Diploma in Jazz Studies and a Bachelor of Music from St. Francis Xavier University, Scott Ferguson has gone on to live his musical dreams.

In the early 80′s Scott focused on his jazz passion studying with renowned drum teacher Jim Blackley in Toronto and performing with such greats as Oliver Jones, Peter Appleyard and Dave Young. Settling in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Scott broadened his stylistic scope and in 1992 embarked on a seven year tenure touring and recording with “The Rankin Family”.

After hundreds of concerts in Canada, The United States, The U.K. and Australia Scott started pursuing his interest in studio production. Fueled by his work with legendary Nashville producers George Massenberg and John Jennings on the Rankin CDs “Uprooted” and “Endless Seasons”, Scott started “Ferguson Music Productions Inc.

Devon Kirkpatrick Engineer

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Devon Kirkpatrick Engineer

Background

Devon has worked as an engineer or Pro Tools engineer on numerous grammy winning albums. Most notable was his Pro Tools Engineering work for Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill which won four GRAMMYs (including album of the year) in 1999.

Tony Ricci Producer

Tony Ricci Producer

Background

Tony Ricci is a veteran music producer with over 20 years experience and 6 Grammy Considerations since 2005. Tony is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Tony was the staff Sound Designer at the TONY Award winning Trinity Repertory Company in Providence RI for two years, dealing with all aspects of Theatre production sound and also composing original music for the world premier of the play Reckless. He has worked with all styles of music including rock, metal, pop, country, jazz, world, urban, classical and folk. In addition to his studio work, Tony is an audio instructor at New England Institute Of Technology.

Tony’s production style is based on capturing what makes each artist unique and recognizable, and creating showpiece mixes. He is currently looking for artists who have strong songs, true passion for their music and a desire to take their career to the next level.